The Accidental Proposal by Matt Dunn

Ed & Dan #3

by Matt Dunn

Ed Middleton is he's just got engaged to his girlfriend, Sam, and he couldn't be happier. At least, he thinks he's engaged. The thing is, it was Sam who did the proposing, and the more he thinks about it, the less he's sure that she was actually asking him to marry her. She could have just been asking the question, you know...hypothetically. As the wedding day draws nearer, Ed becomes more and more uneasy. Sam keeps disappearing off for furtive meetings and private phone calls, and when he spies her going into a pub with a man he's never seen before, all his old jealousies and insecurities threaten to re-surface. It's the perfect time for Ed's unhinged ex-girlfriend, Jane, to show up on his doorstep. Meanwhile, Dan - Ed's best-friend and soon-to-be-best-man - is determined to throw him a stag night to remember. And when a severely hung-over Ed wakes up the morning after the night before to see a second dent in the pillow, it seems as if Dan has got his wish. Will Ed manage to find out the truth about his stag night as well as the identity of Sam's secret man? Or will an accidental proposal lead them both down the aisle to a wedding neither of them ever imagined?

Genres: Chick Lit, Fiction, Romance

Paperback

First published February 17, 2011

About the author

Matt was born in Margate, but eventually escaped to Spain to write his first novel (in between working as a newspaper columnist, and playing a lot of tennis). Previously he has been a professional lifeguard, fitness equipment salesman, and an IT head hunter, but he prefers writing for a living, so hopes people will keep buying his books.

Matt is the author of four contemporary romantic comedy novels; Best Man, The Ex-Boyfriend's Handbook (which was shortlisted for both the Romantic Novel Of The Year award, as well as the Melissa Nathan Award for Comedy Romance), From Here To Paternity, and Ex-Girlfriends United. He's also written about life, love, and relationships for various publications including The Times, Guardian, Cosmopolitan, Company, Elle, Glamour, and The Sun.

Several of Matt's novels have been translated for various European markets (he's big in the Balkans, apparently), as well as as far afield as Malaysia and Indonesia. He's a regular on the literary festival scene, and rates the recent lecturing stint he did on the Creative Writing degree course at London Metropolitan University as one of the most rewarding things he's ever done - and not only because of the number of ideas he was able to appropriate from his students for his books.

Reviews

[Leah · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Ex-Boyfriends Handbook by Matt Dunn would most probably land on my list of Top 20 Favourite Books Ever if I were ever to attempt a list like that. (I’m not going to. Ever.) So it’s kind of disappointing to me that the two further Ed and Dan books have been so… well, boring. I read a bit of Ex-Girlfriends United before giving up and although I have managed to start and finish The Accidental Proposal, I feel as if it was a bit of a waste of time. What made the first novel to feature Ed and Dan so great was the banter, was the story as Ed tries to get himself out of the rut he’d gotten into with his ex before she walked out on him precisely for being in that rut so he sets out on getting fit again. It was funny, it was fresh, but two books later and I think it’s time Ed and Dan are retired (honestly, I think they shouldn’t have had two further books, no matter how much I like them as characters and I wish even futher I hadn’t attempted to read them).

The Accidental Proposal is basically Ed and Dan sitting in the Admiral Jim for 85% of the novel chatting about three things: women, Ed’s forthcoming wedding, and Ed’s girlfriend Sam’s potential affair. The other 15% of the novel is filled with Ed worrying about whether he’s good enough for Sam and whether they’re really getting married, with some scenes thrown in with Sam to show us, you know, that she’s still there. That’s it! There isn’t really a plot to it, it’s basically just Ed panicking that he’s not good enough/the wedding isn’t a “real” wedding/Dan being a plank/Ed and Sam being evasive and just not talking. It’s quite astounding how little talking couples do in novels (when more often than not a quick conversation would sort everything out perfectly) and Ed and Sam are the same. Ed spends the entire novel doubting himself (something which gets old, fast) and if he just went up to Sam and ASKED her these questions… Well, things might have been different and it might have been a much, much better inner monologue because, by God, can Ed go on and on and on and on and on.

If I’m being brutally honest (and why shouldn’t I be? I read the book, after all; I spent time reading it) it seems Matt had a vague idea for a third Ed and Dan book but didn’t really have the material to fill it, so the novel just falls flat on its face. It’s basically just a filler novel. There’s no purpose to it, no real sense of anything having been accomplished when you start the novel as to when you finish it. I truly think one Ed and Dan book was enough and as a massive, massive fan of The Ex-Boyfriends Handbook it does cheapen that novel by the two that have followed because they haven’t been anywhere close to as good and the characters have become charicatures of themselves. Ed’s become a whine-y girl, frankly, and Dan is just a total and utter idiot. I can’t remember if Dan was as stupid in the first novel, but it’s as if he’s had his brain removed and every conversation was double the length it should have been as Ed tried to explain things to Dan because Dan was acting the idiot and didn’t seem to get anything. A few instances of stupidity can be amusing, don’t get me wrong, but Dan was just so uncomprehending during every single page that it just got tired.

I felt sad reading The Accidental Proposal because it just wasn’t very good and it ended far too abruptly. There was a potential storyline there with Dan and an ex, and we didn’t even get to see how it ended. So I basically just sat there wondering “Well, what was the point of that?” Why start something and not give us the pay-off? I can’t see there being a fourth Ed/Dan novel and if there was, I probably wouldn’t read it, so why not round off the series and give us the answer as to whether Dan is or is not capable of growing up once and for all? Three novels now Dan has played the joker, the devil-may-care character, and when we finally might get to see some kind of pay-off it ends before we even get an answer. You invest time in a book, in characters, and it’s so disappointing when it ends that way. It’s like they ran out of pages, or something. It was a disappointing end to what had a really, really good first novel. It just never managed to re-capture that magic of the first book and I think it’s now time to bid Ed and Dan adieu once and for all…

[Melissa · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found this book stupid beyond belief. I like silliness but this was just too much. The characters are flatter than the paper they are written on. It never actually occurs to Ed the main character to talk to his fanance. Instead he spends all of his time whinging to his mate Dan who has the mental capacity of a slug. Boring and annoying. There is a blurb on the back that says if you want to know how men think read Matt Dunn. I'm sorry Mr. Dunn but if men are as simple as your characters, the human race would have never evolved.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

It took me ages to read this book because it bored the life out of me and I'd rather play Tiny Wings for hours on end. The main character is like a cold, limp, vinegary chip, and if you think you know how the book will end by the second page... You're right. I score this book a Meh out of Whatever.

[Annisa Erou · Rating 2 out of 5]

Original rating 2.5 rounded down to 2.

- There are so many misogynistic parts (misogynistic comments and point of views) of the book, mostly coming from Dan (seriously he's such a misogynistic arsehole), even though some also coming from Ed. This is so sad, heartbreaking, and disatisfying.

- Ed and Dan are always, like ALWAYS, together, even more than Ed and Sam. And they spend fucking lots of time together at Admiral Jim.

- The way Dan looks down on Ed through his offensive comments over and over makes their friendship an unhealthy relationship, in my opinion. Ed has already been insecure and inferior enough about everything. Some self esteem issues, I suppose. But Dan makes it even worse.

- The book is not even funny at all, too bad it doesn't live up to its reviews and appraisal.

- I like the revelation of Sam's mystery man and Ed's mystery woman in the end but I'm fed up already with the book. 😂

Original rating was 2.5 only because the book teaches us the importance of not having AND smashing misogyny and patriarchy, so hopefully there won't be any similar comments and point of views from now on and in the future, remembering SUCH comments and point of views cover many parts of the book.

[Lance]

Unequivocally the worst piece of writing I have read or will read in years. The two main characters, Ed and Dan, are caricatures of the most insipid, simple-minded kind. Ed, in all his navel-gazing, doesn't deserve any woman's love, and Dan is the stereotypical machismo idiot. At best, the writing is juvenile, the plot too dumb to begin to describe, and the entire project itself the stuff of filler. Ed spends the entire second half of this mistake worrying about something that is impossible to believe. You, the reader, aren't likely to buy into any of this mess. I'm providing this brief review to warn you from wasting your time here. If negative stars were possible, this would have several.

[Wednesday · Rating 1 out of 5]

Uncertain Edward has become engaged to his girlfriend Sam - he thinks she proposed to him, but he's not entirely sure. Best mate and best man-to-be, Dan is more than happy to guide Ed through the pre-wedding prep, even though he is probably the worst person to help. The book is a day-by-day account of their bumbling towards the wedding date.

I don't know who this book is aimed at, (cover suggests chick-lit)?, but I found it boring, laddish and purile. None of the characters except Sam (the bride) and Wendy (the barmaid) have any redeeming features and although Dan is funny to start with, he got worse and more boorish with the reading, to the point of cringey.

I read half way and them skimmed to the end. Not my cup of tea at all.

[Marcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author is a unicorn- a male romance writer and the book is written in the perspective of the main character, Edward Middleton. He just got engaged to his girlfriend, but when he tells his best friend, Dan, Dan starts making him have doubts. Ed was previously dumped by his girl friend of 10 years, after he found out she was having an affair and has low self esteem, which Dan keeps playing off of. The dialogue is funny, but I really didn't like Dan. I felt like I was missing something- maybe a previous book?

[Nomcy 2.0 · Rating 3 out of 5]

For as long as I can remember, I've always wanted to read this book ever since I read The Ex Boyfriend's Handbook. But somehow, after finally getting it, The Accidental Proposal didn't turn out the way I expected. Maybe my tastes have changed since I read the first book, but I found Dan quite annoying and immature, while Ed was just a whiner. Felt like reaching into the book and smacking him countless times. Which is probably why it took me months to finish it.

[Msdot · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like most people who have reviewed the book, I do feel that this book has quite a boring story line. However, I was entertained by the humour in it, so overall it was still an enjoyable read. The story felt abit of being dragged unnecessarily though, like the writer was just trying to meet certain number of words before he can submit it to his publisher.

[mara ♡ · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't finish this book around the 50% mark.

I've never said this before, but it's genuinely the worst book I've ever read. It felt like a filler novel. I didn't feel a connection with any of the characters and beyond that, it was utterly boring, repetitive and predictable.

[Kristian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Incredibly poor

[Ipswichblade · Rating 3 out of 5]

Possibly over dosed on Ed and Dan but felt this was one book to far in the series. As per the previous one in the series it was too long.

[Jandira Pimentel · Rating 3 out of 5]

An ok read.

[Gemma Hynds · Rating 1 out of 5]

i didnt finish i couldnt get into it.

[Morenike Alli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as the first book

After reading the Good boyfriend's handbook I was quite happy to see the story of Ed and Dan continued.
However this book was a let down. Ed came off as whiny and immature. There were a few laughs but mostly from Dan's shenanigans.
If Matt Dunn decides to write another book in this series he needs to change the way Ed is portrayed.

[Obsidian · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can honestly say that I really did enjoy the first novel of Matt Dunn's that I read, The Ex-Boyfriend's Handbook: Eddie will do whatever it takes to become her Mr. Right. I was happy that I had found a new author to read and sat down and promptly bought the next two novels starring Ed Middelton and his best friend Dan. The second novel, Ex-Girlfriends United: Dan used to get the girls. Now the girls are getting him back. could have been a brilliant novel if only it had been told from Dan's point of view. Having Ed still going around and acting insecure through a second novel was just a bit too much for me to deal with. Not to mention that he was being really dumb how he handled things with his ex and current girlfriend.

This novel is book three starring Ed and Dan and how I am wishing that I had never bought it at this point. Matt Dunn can definitely write. He definitely knows the male brain and it would be great to read about the inner workings of a male mind while in a relationship. If this novel had been told from a different point of view's than Ed's I probably would have enjoyed it more.

The novel begins with Ed telling Dan that he is engaged since his girlfriend of a couple of year's Sam asked him while they were in bed one night (Quick Aside #1 I honestly don't think that Sam asked him to marry her, but was just chatting about marriage and the future and since Ed is dumb as a bag of hair he did not get that) and with Ed quickly becoming insecure that Sam may not want to marry him. Ed eventually proposes to Sam, but he still thinks that she asked him first. None of this is ever resolved in the course of this novel and it becomes a moot point anyway so I have no idea why it was even brought up as a thing throughout the novel.

Ed throughout this entire novel just ran around acting insecure and just stupid (once again) due to the fact that his ex-girlfriend dumped him via a letter and cheated on him with someone else. I have never in my life yelled at a fictional character the way I did Ed. I said at least 20 times

"For all that is holy, GET OVER IT!"

Ed remarks about Jane and Sam constantly to Dan, in his inner meanderings, and to Wendy the waitress at he and Dan's favorite pub. There is very little plot going on besides Sam and Ed planning the wedding and Ed pouting like a child because Sam wants to have a smaller wedding and Ed wants to have a huge big celebration in a church.

With Ed questioning whether Sam really loves him and if she is cheating on him (Quick Aside Two: I have never hoped for an affair so much in my life) the novel became tedious. Seriously, the entire novel is just Ed whining to Dan about Sam and Dan using common sense to get Ed to come to his senses about Sam. When I eventually finished the novel I just felt relief combined with annoyance that I wasted my time finishing this novel. I would still recommend, The Ex-Boyfriend's Handbook but would not read beyond that novel.

[YL Lee · Rating 1 out of 5]

Taken from the back cover of the book:

"Ed Middleton's just got engaged. At least, he thinks he has.

The thing is, it was his girlfriend Sam who did the proposing, and the more he thinks about it, the less he's sure that she was actually asking him to marry her. She could have just been asking the question, you know...hypothetically.

As the wedding day approaches, Ed becomes more and more uneasy. Sam keeps disappearing off for furtive meetings and private phone calls, and when he spies her going into a pub with a man he's never seen before, all his old jealousies and insecurities threaten to re-surface. It's the perfect time for Ed's unhinged ex, Jane, to show up on his doorstep.

Meanwhile, best-friend and soon-to-be best man Dan is determined to make Ed's stag night go with a bang. And when a severely hung-over Ed wakes up the morning after to see a second dent in the pillow, it seems as if that's exactly what happened.

Will Ed manage to find out the truth about his stag night as well as the identity of Sam's secret man? Or will an accidental proposal lead them both down the aisle to a wedding neither of them ever imagined?"

And that, is the entire story! Not pretty much the entire plot, but the actual entire plot, minus the conclusion, which by the way, became quite clear way too early. And the answer is yes. Both "Will Ed bla bla bla...?" and "Or will an accidental proposal bla bla bla...?" - yes. I hope by spoiling it for you I'm saving you the hours you might spend reading Ed's endlessly obsessing about Sam's mystery man, his ex, and his mystery dent-in-the-pillow. That's four hundred pages of the obsessive thoughts in Ed's head, followed by a repetition of those thoughts in form of conversations with Dan, repeated in an outer loop until the end.

Basically, this is a book of no substance. There isn't much of a storyline. There is no notable character development. In fact, there are no notable characters in addition to the few already mentioned in the back cover write-up. These (I think there were only two or three) were so trivial and inconsequential that honestly, only after a couple of weeks since finishing the book, I can't even recall their names, or how they relate to the "main" characters anymore. As if all these aren't enough, a part of the repetitive text is the super annoying reminder (by Ed, as the narrator) of how intellectually-challenged his best-friend is, and how his ex cheated on him. Continuously. On loop.

So, in contrary to the Sophie Kinsella quote printed on the front cover, Matt Dunn's writing makes you want to roll your eyes inside out.

[Kee · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh man, this was a boring book. I never usually dislike books this much, especially if they are comedy-style romances, but this book was such a struggle to get through.

Firstly, how random was the whole Jane introduction? She just pops in and Ed is like 'oh, okay, better not tell Sam even though this chick cheated on me blah blah blah' and her really strange crying fits and moments of resentment. This book literally has no plot. Dunn takes small issues that in another book would be small mini-plots and problems, and turns them into a whole dragged out saga. Where's the climax? The excitement to fnd out what happens? Nothing interesting happens, it's literally a discussion - a very slow paced one at that- between Ed and his best friend/asshole of a person Dan who is so shallow and rude and demeaning. i get it's supposed to depict a teasing friendship, but every.single.thing Dan says is stupidly misunderstood, or insulting to Ed. The other characters were even worse! Sam is a character i know nothing about, and Polly seems to just be thrown in there for no other reason apart from trying to make Dan look vulnerable and somewhat serious. It just didn't work and felt so random and ill fitting.

So yes, many complaints about this book, which is a shame. I skimmed through the last 20 pages, which was supposed to be the big 'figuring out the truth' part.

Ed was annoying and immature, Dan was stupid, and every small issue was dragged on and talked about for 10 pages with Dan's stupid commentary. Blughhh

When you don't really care about the characters, you know it's not a great read. The only person i liked was Wendy.

I only found out this was a series once I read some other reviews. Perhaps that's why i found this book a bit randomly strung together...

[Unidiatu m kabia · Rating 2 out of 5]

It a nice book

[Aileen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ed Middleton gets engaged, but it was his Girlfriend Sam that asked him “casually” he’s not sure if she meant it or she was just being curious. He rushes out and buys her a very expensive Engagement Ring, he wants the wedding as soon as possible, he wants traditional, Sam just wants a quiet wedding in a Registry Office, he pushes her for a date and agree on 3 weeks away, although she doesn’t seem enthusiastic. Ed’s Ex Jane is back on the scene; Ed gets a little suspicious of Sam and thinks she may be having an affair. Ed takes advice from his best friend Dan, he puts Dan in charge of organising the Stag Night and the Entertainment for the wedding, he warns Dan he wants everything to go smoothly and he wants no “funny business”.
When Ed wakes up after his Stag night wondering if he has been unfaithful, as he is sure he heard someone sneak out of the room, he is left wondering if he has been unfaithful, but doesn’t remember anything. Does Ed find out the truth? Does the wedding go ahead as planned?
I have never read any books by Matt Dunn, This book had very good reviews and I am pleased to say I loved it, I laughed throughout the whole book. I would definitely recommend this book, it’s easy to read and follow, I couldn’t put it down and I will be looking out for more books by this author.

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a confession: I bought this because I thought it was a book by William Sutcliffe. Thanks, Amazon's 'you might also like' generator.

This tale of nice-guy Edward blundering through his short engagement to Sam isn't as clever or well-written as Sutcliffe, but it has more actual laugh out loud moments, mostly courtesy of the thick as two short planks best man/best mate character, TV's Dan Davis. The plot twists are predictable (is Sam seeing someone else? Does she secretly want to call the wedding off? What do you think?) but getting there is a lot of light, easy fun and I can see this becoming one of my comfort reads alongside the works of Mike Gayle.

[Aisyah · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is my first Matt Dunn. I didn't like it. It was a boring read cause almost 90% of the book is conversation between Ed and Dan..

Maybe it was a mistake I chose this one as my first Matt Dunn but honestly, I don't think I'm going to search his books any time soon.. Sorry.

Btw, I know this is not appropriate but I had an aching time wanting to know the ending.. Well (how do you hide spoilers?)


Dan married Sam. (well, as I was flipping my pages in kobo- which is not that easy compared to PDF and printed copies, I really wanted to know this. But honestly, I prefer the ending to include Ed telling Sam the truth and his insecurities.. And Sam does or says something that will eliminate his doubtful thoughts forever. Who knows what other doubts he will have during marriage..

[Philippa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had high hopes for this book having enjoyed all of Matt Dunn's previous books. I'm sad to say it was very disappointing. It just seemed to be made up of "going round in circles" conversations between Ed and Dan who were both extremely unlikeable and immature (was that the point?), most of the women were a bit flat and unappealing - the most interesting character was Natasha but even then she said things I don't imagine a woman saying. I'm sorry Matt, but I didn't like this one :( I would recommend checking out his other books as they have lots of male characters women can relate to and were genuinely funny. This one wasn't, sadly.

[Jenny · Rating 1 out of 5]

On my blog, I have rated it 2, but adjusted it to meet Goodreads rating scale (I can't give this a 2 for "it was ok" - you'll see why)

I enjoyed the other books in the series, but this one was just too much. It felt overlong, yet the ending didn't seem to resolve any of the problems highlighted during the book. This book was padded out with too much of Edward's constant rambling and obsessions over his love life that just made him annoying to read about.

http://chocolatedigestivebiscuit.word...

[Lorena · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is acctually my firts review on any book I've read. And I'm only writing it because I was very disappointed in this book by Matt Dunn. I love him as an author and even Sophie Kinsella gave her praise for this book so I was expecting a great read. I just found the main caratcter Ed very annoying, he's always complainig like a girl and throughout the whole book.
Sorry Matt, only two stars for you :(

[Cassandra Lopez · Rating 4 out of 5]

hmmm it was a page turner but there was a few things that annoyed me about this book. One of them was that it was mainly a conversation between dan and ed in the pub through about 90% of the book. it was funny a little sexist at times which I didn't mind too much! but it would of been nice to have heard more of the other characters. also dan annoyed me soooo much!

[Kathy Chung · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't like the book coz the hero was in my opinion was effeminate. He doesn't seems to have a mind of his own. Whatever his friend, Dan, said will sway him although he was quite certain earlier on.

How can he be uncertain whether his gf, Sam, wishes to marry him after a few words with Dan. And the reason given why he couldn't ask Sam point blank does not hold water for me.

[Kathryn Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good story. But went over the same things too many times. I will read more by him as he has good stories, but very redundant and necessary to skip over the repeated idea.
This one starts with a man telling his friend that he just got engaged. But as he tells the story, he's not sure he's really engaged or not. Did he misunderstand his conversation with his girlfriend.?

[Aisha · Rating 2 out of 5]

I struggled to finish this book as I could see where it was heading.nice to see weddings turned on its head with the guy being insecure though.wouldn't rush out to buy anymore Matt Dunn books in a hurry though

[Suraya Nordin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a lol but can't be voted as my favourite book. It started funny enough with the character of Edward and Naughty Dan but when the characters didn't change and still produce lame jokes towards the end, I felt bored. I like this novel though but won't go for the second run with it.